Leibniz Society of North America Newsletter (2010-2011)
APA Sessions
- EASTERN APA: Marriott/Westin-Copley Connection, Boston, MA (27-30 December 2010)
- Monday, 28 December 2010
- Group Session 11:15 - 13:15
- Chair: Martha Bolton (Rutgers)
- Speaker: Jeffrey K. McDonough (Harvard University)
- Topic: "Monadic Teleology and Optimal Form"
- Commentators: Justin Smith (Concordia University); Catherine Wilson (University of Aberdeen, UK)
LSNA Essay Contest
- 2010 Leibniz Society Essay Competition: There was no winning entry in the essay competition for 2010.
- Twenty-ninth annual competition (2011): In an effort to encourage the study of the philosophy of Leibniz in North America and to give recognition to deserving scholars, the Leibniz Society of North America (LSNA) is continuing its annual Essay Competition. Submitted essays should be on some aspect of the philosophy of Leibniz. They should be from twelve to twenty-five pages in length (double-spaced), and should be submitted by June 1, 2011, as determined by postmark. The winning essay (or essays) will be presented before the Society at the American Philosophical Association group meeting of the LSNA or at the Annual Conference of the LSNA, with the time and location to be negotiated with the LSNA Vice President in consultation with the Executive Committee. In addition, the author of a winning essay will have the option of publishing it in the Leibniz Review. To facilitate anonymous judging, the author's name should be given only on a separate title page or cover sheet and should not appear in the body or footnotes of the paper; neither should identifiable information such as full references to publications by the author. Judges reserve the right not to name a winner in the event that none of the submissions is deemed to be of sufficient quality or suitability for the award. Suitability for oral presentation may play a role in the judging. Full scholarly apparatus is preferred but not required; sufficiently developed works-in-progress will, therefore, have a chance in the competition and may be submitted. Previous one-time winners are encouraged to re-enter, but a given person can win the competition at most twice. Essays in French or German may be submitted as well as those in English, but all applicants should keep in mind the condition of presentation and should not submit an essay unless they will be able to read their paper at the Annual LSNA Conference. There is no reimbursement for travel possible. Please send submissions to the Coordinator of the LSNA Essay Competition: Professor Mark Kulstad, Department of Philosophy, MS-14, Rice University, Houston, TX 77251-1892, U.S.A. // (713) 348-2724 // kulstad@ruf.rice.edu
Fourth Annual Leibniz Conference of the Society of North America
- The fourth annual Leibniz Society of North America Conference was hosted by Gregory Brown at the University of Houston (Houston, TX), 3-5 December 2010.
Fifth Annual Conference of the Leibniz Society of North America
- The fifth annual of the Leibniz Society of North America will be hosted by Donald Rutherford at the University of California-San Diego, 15-17 June 2011.
Leibniz Society of North America
Executive Committee Meeting
University of Houston, Houston, TX
4 December 2010
- In attendance were Martha Bolton, Gregory Brown, Mark Kulstad, Brandon Look, and Donald Rutherford. Meeting called to order at 1:30 PM.
- I. Constitutional and Executive Roles
- The question was raised whether the current distribution of effort between Secretary-Treasurer and Review Editor was efficient. A discussion ensued. No action was suggested.
- II. Upcoming Conferences
- Don Rutherford will host the 5th annual Leibniz Society conference in San Diego, June 15-17, 2011. It will be co-sponsored by the Leibniz-Forschungsstelle in Münster.
- Justin Smith and François Duchesneau will host the 6th annual conference in Montreal at some time in 2012.
- Thereafter, the field is open. It was suggested that conferences on the Monadology and the Leibniz-Clarke Correspondence in 1714 and 1715 would be good ideas.
- III. APA Sessions
- It was decided to continue holding an LSNA session at the Eastern Division Meeting of the APA and it was recognized the earlier time slot (in the late afternoon) had indeed drawn greater participation. The Society will not hold meetings at either Central or Pacific division meetings.
- Meeting adjourned at 2:20 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Brandon C. Look
Leibniz Society of North America
Business Meeting
University of Houston, Houston, TX
4 December 2010
The annual business meeting was called to order at 5:30pm.
An announcement was made concerning future conferences, to wit:
Don Rutherford will host the 5th annual Leibniz Society conference in San Diego, June 15-17, 2011. It will be co-sponsored by the Leibniz-Forschungsstelle in Münster.
Justin Smith and François Duchesneau will host the 6th annual conference in Montreal at some time in 2012.
Thereafter, the field is open. It was suggested that conferences on the Monadology and the Leibniz-Clarke Correspondence in 1714 and 1715 would be good ideas.
Attendees were thanked for their participation.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:35pm.